The tunnel had to be protected with high temperature resistant materials because of the expected high thermal output. The decision was taken to apply PROMATECT®-T panels, rather than for instance a spray mortar.

The effects of the intended fire loads on the heat release rate and the time temperature curve were unknown, prior to the Runehamar tests. Therefore TNO (is now called Efectis) advised to fire test the intended construction to the Dutch RWS fire curve, exposing the panel to multiple fires on laboratory scale. This RWS fire curve is still seen as the most severe hydrocarbon type of fire, due to its rapid temperature rise in the first 5 minutes, creating a thermal shock to the tunnel lining and reaching a maximum temperature of 1350º C.

The challenge for the PROMATECT®-T panels can be described as follows:

The system should be able to withstand 4 fires with maximum temperatures going up to approximately 1400ºC.

The temperature criterion on the rock structure of the tunnel was set to be 250º C. This was perceived to be a safe temperature for the rock material to minimise damage.

The system was not allowed to show any integrity failures. This was applicable to the PROMATECT®-T panels and the sub-frame including the fixation materials.

The system should be easy to install to reduce the installation time required to install the whole system, and to facilitate replacement of panels in the unlikely event of damaged panels (mechanical impact). Promat also wanted to have the possibility to extract fire exposed panels from the tunnel, to investigate these in the Promat Research and Technology Centre (PRTC).

A report containing the set-up of the tests, the recordings of the data and the interpretation of the results was issued by Uptun, TNO and our company.

The report also contains a cd-rom with all the pictures and video’s of the set-up and the fire tests, as well as all the technical/scientifical papers.

This website uses cookies to display content and related services in a more user-friendly way and by enabling the analysis of its usage. Further information on cookies and how we use them is contained in the ‘Cookies’ section of our privacy policy. If you do not wish to accept cookies, please close this window in your browser.